Cat and mouse game cannot continue
Six months ago, on January 27, The Times had commented editorially that “from a purely political and moral viewpoint it is evident that the government is far from being in a position to say it is business as usual”.
That comment was made the day after a vote in Parliament on a motion of no confidence in the government saw a tie with 34 for and 34 against. It was defeated only thanks to the Speaker’s casting vote.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi subsequently decided to seek a vote of confidence from within the Nationalist Party he leads. Of course, he was overwhelmingly confirmed as party leader but it was evident that the result of the general council’s vote did not reflect the real situation.
The internal dissent within the party was already very evident then and, in fact, The Times had noted that such dissent went beyond the vociferous Franco Debono. “How Dr Gonzi handles business in the House and deals with Dr Debono and other dissenters are now more crucial than ever,” The Times said in an editorial on February 27.
The cat and mouse game continued and Dr Gonzi and his government were embarrassed again on June 4 when Dr Debono voted on a vote of censure moved by the opposition and which led to the resignation of Home Affairs Minister, Carm Mifsud Bonnici who, until early January, was also responsible for justice.
This time, Dr Gonzi called for a vote of confidence in the House, which he won. Prior to the vote, he declared he wanted “a clear vote to know the government has the majority to permit it to move ahead with stability”.
The day after Parliament expressed confidence in the government, The Times asked: “Does Dr Gonzi really believe, with hand on heart, that it is now plain sailing and that he and his government can move ahead, business as usual?”
The answer came on Monday when Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando voted with the opposition on a motion calling for the resignation of Malta’s Permanent Representative to the European Union, Richard Cachia Caruana. As if that were not enough, another Nationalist MP, Jesmond Mugliette, abstained.
It proves, if proof were ever needed, that the dissent within the Nationalist Parliamentary Group is not only limited to Dr Debono. Surely, Dr Gonzi must have been aware of this. Is that what he meant when, earlier this month, he declared that he planned to remain in office until his term expires “as long as the decision is in my hands”? Soon after the vote on Monday night, he admitted he was surprised at the outcome because “we had the full support of the Parliamentary Group”.
Of course, it depends what he means by “the full support”. Was such support understood or was it gauged through a headcount? If there was a headcount why did the dissenters not speak up? If it was understood, what led to the party drawing such a conclusion?
While Dr Gonzi spoke of “the full support of the Parliamentary Group”, Mr Cachia Caruana noted in his resignation letter that “it was a fait accompli, with the outcome assured even before the motion was presented”.
It is very evident now that the situation within the PN and, more specifically, within its Parliamentary Group is far from rosy. Order must be restored for the good of the party itself but, more importantly, for the good of the country.
So, stop the game of cat and mouse and move to an election... soonest.
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David Scicluna
Jun 21st 2012, 00:21
Time up!
Anthony Galea
Jun 20th 2012, 17:21
Mr. Spiteri we care what is happening now in 2012 ans not what happened years ago. We have a government that cares only for power and not for Malta
A Spiteri
Jun 20th 2012, 20:12
The problem in the PL administration and on the opposition benches right now are the same people in the old days. That is the biggest PROBLEM........
Eddy & David Bezzina I know that we are in 2012 and the MP's in your PL of the 1980's are still in the PL in 2012, such as Scibberras Trigona, Marielouise Coleiro, Leo Brincat, Karmenu Vella, etc etc etc, etc. They haven't changed a bit. And that's why it is more a PROBLEM for Malta
VINCENT WILLIAMS
Jun 20th 2012, 17:12
GonziPN by not calling an early election is continuing to harm economically the country and politically the PN. For the latter this will be confirmed after the coming election.
Politically the situation in Malta has been worst than that of Greece. For at least now in Greece it seems that after the last general election the political crisis has been solved. But without any doubt not in Malta.
GonziPN has a lot to learn from the Greek saga regarding the political situation. But with out any doubt the Prime Minister is one of the most stubborn that the country has ever had. For the Prime Minister with his undemocratic political attitude is doing his utmost to gain votes for GonziPN at all cost. But in reality the Prime Minister is rather discouraging voters from voting PN.
C Sant
Jun 20th 2012, 22:04
The harm to the economy is the uncertainty of what will happen if a Labour government is in power.till now we have heard of no real proposals apart from the PL jumping on the bandwagon of a number of PN members full of Lanzit. That is what we shall come to expect from the PL in government - Lanzit!!!
GL Calleja
Jun 20th 2012, 16:20
But Mr Editor a never ending quote says, " He who plays with fire will eventually get burned ". The cat and mouse game you speak of, has to end so the government can concentrate on the Country's Welfare and not the Party's Welfare. Declaring that you have the confidence of your own party is no big feat. Having the Speaker cast the deciding vote seems like a loser to me.The deciding vote should have come from Franco Debono but he decided to abstain and the question remains. WHY?
Eddy Privitera
Jun 20th 2012, 16:17
EXCELLENT EDITORIAL. SUGGEST TO ALL GONZIPN COMMENTATORS TO READ AND FULLY DIGEST !
GL Calleja
Jun 20th 2012, 18:07
Read and fully digest. Eddy both parties PN and PL are making a mockery of our Parliament while they should be concentrating on this countries affairs. The Editor said and I quote " Cat and mouse game cannot continue". It takes a cat and it takes a mouse to create this game. I will let you decide who the cat is, and who the mouse is. In a few words, it takes two to tango.
A Spiteri
Jun 20th 2012, 14:13
I guess you were'nt even born or you don't want to let the people remember what happened under the PL adminstraion. If you don't know the story pls ask your frinds at the Times of Malta.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120205/letters/The-day-the-Times-building-was-burnt-down.405367
David Bezzina
Jun 20th 2012, 17:37
That is history.The PL was punished by the Maltese many times for those type of incidents.To keep reminding us of such incidents will not score the PN any brownie points anymore.
We are living in 2012 and not in the 1980's.
Eddy Privitera
Jun 20th 2012, 17:45
A Spiteri: So even if it is The Times which is telling Dr. Gonzi to stop playing games and go for an election, you have no argument except to play the same old story of what happened decades ago. But even then, you would be selective, won't you ?
Joseph Bugeja
Jun 20th 2012, 20:40
A Spiteri.
I was already 'born' in the seventies and some of the things that happened then were horrific. That is why the people changed government.
I was also already 'born' in the sixties but I guess you weren't or you don't want to let the people remember what happened under the PN administrations then (to borrow your wording).
Ask the historians or the people who still bear the hurt. Then too the people changed government.
I am also still 'born' in this millenium and personally (definitely not everyone!!!) am living hell and the polls (at least for now) are saying it's time for a change.
Obviously like the late eighties not everyone yearns for it.
Soon the people will speak since Dr Gonzi (as is his constitutional right) won't let us do the talking now.
John Saliba
Jun 20th 2012, 13:40
GonziPN is afraid to face the people he has smitten and trampled upon for eight long bloody years. He will only call an election at the last possible moment and then, we'll have to drag him out of Castile, screaming, and kicking.
Please choose the reason of your report below: